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About this blog: I am a perpetually hungry twenty-something journalist, born and raised in Menlo Park and currently working at the Palo Alto Weekly as education and youth staff writer. I graduated from USC with a major in Spanish and a minor in jo... (More)

About this blog: I am a perpetually hungry twenty-something journalist, born and raised in Menlo Park and currently working at the Palo Alto Weekly as education and youth staff writer. I graduated from USC with a major in Spanish and a minor in journalism. Though my first love is journalism, food is a close second. I am constantly on the lookout for new restaurants to try, building an ever-expanding "to eat" list. As a journalist, I'm always trolling news sources and social media websites with an eye for local food news, from restaurant openings and closings to emerging food trends. When I was a teenager growing up in Menlo Park, I always drove up to the city on weekends with the singular purpose of finding a better meal than I could at home. But in the past year or so, the Peninsula's food culture has been totally transformed, with many new restaurants opening and a continuous stream of San Francisco restaurants coming south to open Peninsula outposts. Don't navigate this food boom hungry and alone! Feed me your tips on new chefs and eats and together we'll share them with the broader community. (Hide)

Palo Alto’s Tava Indian Kitchen to relaunch; free lunch Wednesday

Tava Indian Kitchen at Palo Alto’s Town & Country Village shopping center will be relaunching this Wednesday as Tava Kitchen with a new menu, brand and identity -- plus free lunch.

The fast-casual Indian restaurant’s relaunch is "an effort to better represent its refreshed menu of South Asian-inspired cuisine," a press release from the restaurant states. Tava first opened in the rear of Town & Country in 2012, serving up Indian-style burritos, rice and salad bowls made with grass-fed meats and house-ground spices, among other quality ingredients.

The new Tava Kitchen now offers "signature" entrees that can be served with rice or in a wrap with a choice of six proteins: chicken tikka masala, slow-roasted chicken, lamb meatballs, braised beef, pineapple-glazed salmon and Asian tofu. Customers can now choose from a range of hot and cold sides, from glazed sweet potatoes sprinkled with Himalayan pink salt and chilled Brussels sprouts and grapes with a mint chutney to mac and cheese topped with "South Asian" bread crumbs.

The restaurant will continue to serve its stone-baked garlic naan bread, too.

"We are thrilled to introduce the new Tava Kitchen which we feel is a better expression of our brand as it highlights our key focus on fresh ingredients and incredible flavor," CEO Jeremy Morgan stated in the press release. "The restaurant now features more culinary-forward menu items that offer our guests an approachable, modern take on South Asian cuisine that we feel will be beneficial as we execute on our plan to grow from our three current locations to a total of 12 restaurants by 2018."

Also new at Tava is a line of kids meals — three entrees served with rice, a choice of fresh fruit or vegetables and organic milk, starting at $5 — and house-made, fresh-squeezed lemonades (classic, ginger lemongrass and strawberry flavors).

The Palo Alto location is the first to open with the new menu and branch, but two other outposts in San Francisco and Santa Clara will follow, according to the press release.

In honor of the grand reopening, Tava Kitchen will be giving away free lunch for Palo Alto High School students and the general public this Wednesday, March 23. Paly students can register here to eat lunch for free from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.; Members of the public can register here to eat for free between 12:30 and 5:30 p.m.

Posted by What a Bust!,
a resident of Terman Middle School,
on Mar 23, 2016 at 1:47 pm

RAN OUT OF FOOD! That's what I was told when I went there to try their new menu. I signed up and made a reservation on Eventbrite to arrive by 1pm. They were asking a $5 donation to fundraise for a charity. Guess they didn't want to raise much money for this charity.

I drive all the way over, battle the T&C parking, arrived at my designated time, only to be told that they ran out of food. What a waste of my time.

What restaurant doesn't order/prepare enough food for a Grand Opening??!! They did give me a discount coupon for a future visit, but running out of food by 1pm?! Really?! Someone didn't do their job, doesn't know their job, or shouldn't be in the job.

Epic Fail! Too bad, was looking forward to trying out the new menu too.